FY 2012

Training Program for Japanese Language Learners from Regional Universities

The aim of this project is to provide opportunities for language training and language learning over a one-month period in Japan to students studying the Japanese language at regional universities in Northwest and Southwest China and in other regions that have little chance for exchange with Japan. Selection of students and training content will be carried out by the China Education Association for International Exchange, an organization working under the China Education Department, while the training itself will be conducted by the Waseda University Center for International Education. Aside from education in the Japanese language, students will attend special lectures on the politics, economy, society and culture of Japan, and take part in exchange with Japanese students and in educational visits to locations in Tokyo; sites of cultural and historical interest. Following their return to China, the students will submit essays to the grantee on what they have learned through the training, which will then be compiled into a booklet. Through this comprehensive training project, SPF aims to promote and provide incentives for the study of the Japanese language at regional universities in China.

Book Translation and Publication Project for Understanding Contemporary Japan

The aim of this project is to resolve the persistent shortage of information about Japan in China. As a means to give Chinese citizens informative resources that will allow them to gain a comprehensive understanding of Japan, carefully selected books on contemporary Japan will be translated and published in the Chinese language. More specifically the project aims to take textbooks selected by a committee of experts from Japan and China, then outsource translation and publication of these books as well as all related business affairs to a publishing association composed of a number of mid-sized publishing houses in China, with the objective of translating and publishing fifteen books per year.

Facilitating Dialogue between Future Leaders

Over the three year period since FY2009, SPF has been conducting a project to host open symposiums and closed dialogues on the theme of Japan-China bilateral financial cooperation, inviting practitioners active in the fiscal and monetary fields from Japan and China. Based on its experiences of providing such opportunities for future leaders in the fields of exchange in the fiscal and monetary fields, the Fund will in this project use networks developed to date to send practitioners from financial ministries and departments in Japan to China, and vice versa. In addition, symposiums will be held in both countries on issues of common interest, opportunities will be provided for young politicians, bureaucrats, researchers and members of the media from both countries to exchange views, and a platform will be established for dialogue between practitioners from China and Japan. A collection of manuscripts from the symposium will be created and submitted to the Japanese and Chinese media and uploaded to various websites as a means to spread information about the project. Through these activities, SPF aims to build networks between future leaders from Japan and China that have not been possible to build through traditional approaches to people-to-people exchange.

Japan-China Field Officer Exchange

For the ten year period spanning 2001-2010 The Sasakawa Japan-China Friendship Fund conducted a project for reciprocal exchange between and training of currently active field officers from China and Japan. To date, 126 currently active field officers from the Japanese Self Defense Force, and 207 commissioned field officers from the People's Liberation Army in China have taken part in exchange visits. This project, which seeks to expand the horizons of individuals from both countries, has been highly praised by the relevant departments in Japan and China.
The Foundation believes that it is necessary to make use of the project results obtained over the last ten years in order to further promote trust between the two countries in the future. Thus, the exchange project will continue for another five years, up to FY2015, with currently active field officers from both countries taking part in exchange programs once a year during that period. With the Sasakawa Japan-China Friendship Fund and the China Institute for International Strategic Studies serving as a contact point and enlisting the cooperation of the Ministry of Defense in Japan and Chinese Ministry of Defense, the field officers will visit army, navy and air force units, military training facilities, businesses and agricultural sites, as well as pay courtesy calls on military officials and take part in training about the culture and history of respective countries.

Japan-visit Program for CCP Local Leaders

With the cooperation of the People’s China Magazine Company, which is run by International Communication Office of the Communist Party of China, SPF will in this project invite to Japan CCP Provincial International Communication Officers from various Chinese prefectures and autonomous regions of China. By showcasing the real Japan, this project hopes to deepen understanding of the country, and by spreading information about the exchange in Japan in rural China, it aims further to build the foundations for future related projects in the region. Work involving selection of candidates, arrangement of exit visas and the like will be outsourced to the People’s China Magazine Company, while the exchange program itself will be conducted as a collaboration between the Sasakawa Japan-China Friendship Fund and the People’s China Magazine Company.

Invitation Program for Chinese Magazine Journalists

In this project, writers and editors of popular magazines in China will be invited to Japan as a means to provide the people of China with first hand information about Japan. The objective of the project will be to provide the Chinese public with a realistic picture of contemporary Japan by providing opportunities for the invited guests to conduct interviews with a broad range of individuals active in Japanese politics, economy, society and other fields.
Individuals from two companies chosen on the basis of advice from project collaborators in Japan will be invited each year. Those selected will be young journalists, cameramen and editors currently conducting interviews for magazines; their period of stay in Japan will be one week. As well as collecting footage of real-life politics, economy, society and culture in Japan, the participants will take part in dialogues with leading figures from each of the above spheres, exchange opinions and conduct interviews. Upon their return to China, the journalists will write articles on their experience in Japan.

Invitation Program for Popular Chinese Bloggers

With the number of internet users in China said to have surpassed 400 million, this project will provide opportunities for popular Chinese bloggers with a large presence on the Internet, particularly those who were formerly engaged in the media, to gain an objective view of contemporary Japan. Making use of the rapid and open-ended communicative power of the blogosphere, the bloggers will report their experiences of Japan on the web, in an effort to improve the image of Japan among internet users in China.
Around eight times per year, three popular bloggers from China will be invited to Japan to conduct interviews. Discussions will be held with the bloggers prior to their visit regarding the themes of the interviews and the exact details of sites to be visited, exchange to take place, and so on. As well as collecting footage of real-life politics, economy, society and culture in Japan, the bloggers will take part in dialogues with leading figures from each sphere, exchange opinions and conduct interviews. Those participating in the project will disseminate the results of the project on the Internet as the occasion calls.

Japan-China Young Historians' Seminar

It has been noted that there is much need for steady exchange involving the private sector as a means to address problems in the recognition of historical facts by China and Japan. The Foundation has since 2001 been holding 'Japan-China Young Historians Seminars' as a prelude to intergovernmental collaboration on history research. Through this seminar, young historians from both countries have carried out collaborative research, jointly published results and broadcast information to the English speaking world. As a result, networks have been built between history researchers working on history recognition problems from Japan, China and the US, however development of frameworks for dialogue and collaborative education for future generations of historians remains a problem. Thus, for a five year period from 2011, the Foundation will host a seminar mainly for individuals in the 20-30 age bracket entitled 'The Sasakawa Japan-China Friendship Fund Japan-China Young Historians' Seminar. In FY2012, the second year of the project, around 20 young researchers and 10 mid-career/senior researchers active in giving lectures and guidance will participate in training in Xiamen, China. During the training, the trainees will take part in lectures and opinion exchange sessions and will visit historical museums and sites of historic interest. A report detailing the results of the training will be compiled and possibly released on the Internet. Moreover, exchange will be carried out with history researchers resident in Japan, China and the US as well as with universities and research institutions in each country as a means to strengthen networks between researchers and academics working on issues in recognition of history.

Forty Years of Japan-China Relations in Review (1972～2012)

From 2007-2008, the Foundation conducted a project with the objective of reviewing the history of Japan-China relations since the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship. The culmination of the research in this project came with the publication of 'Thirty Years of Japan-China Relations in Review', a three-volume work in the Chinese language and a separate translation into Japanese. The publication has received much attention from researchers of Japan-China relations in both countries. Following on from this project, the Foundation has since FY2009 been conducting a project in which young Japanese historians conduct research on Japan-China relations since the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries. In this year, the final year of the four-year project, the political, economic and cultural sections of the research will be published by the University of Tokyo Press, and, following translation into Chinese and editing work, a version of the book will be published in the Chinese language by the Social Sciences Academic Press of China. Publication events will be held in Tokyo and Beijing, at which this work reviewing from a Japanese perspective Japan-China exchange in the period from 1972 until 2012 and showing the overall picture of current Japan-China relations will be exhibited to citizens from both countries.

Expanding the Public Relations Activities of the Japan-China Friendship Fund

Established in 1989, the Sasakawa Japan-China Friendship Fund has already been in existence for over 20 years. Under the auspices of the fund, the largest private sector fund linking Japan and China, over 300 projects, participated in by more than 18,000 individuals from both countries, have been conducted to date. However, for the fund to become better known in China, widespread public relations activities are essential. The aim of this project is to use the Internet to provide information about the follow-up on last year's project, database construction and the Fund's activities in China. Specifically, the Chinese language website of the Sasakawa Japan-China Friendship Fund, which was created thanks to the Fund's networks, will be used to introduce the projects currently being carried out in China, provide information on Fund activities, carry out follow-ups on completed projects, improve databases, and introduce projects conducted by related foundations for the benefit of China.

Development of Advanced Level Japanese Language Teaching Material

In this project, materials for teaching of the Japanese language at Chinese universities will be created. With the current close economic relations between Japan and China, the number of students of the Japanese language in China is increasing. Those active in teaching Japanese in China have pointed out a serious need for new teaching materials to replace the outdated ones currently in use. Though there are some efforts underway to create new textbooks, the cooperation of the Japanese language teaching community in Japan will be essential. For such cooperation to take place, the Sasakawa Japan-China Friendship Fund will cover various costs incurred for travel, meetings and the like. In a previous project in which similar funding was provided for the creation of beginner-level materials the Fund verified its efficacy positive outcome. In the current project, the same methods will be followed to develop materials for an advanced level class. Implementing this project will be teachers from Peking University and Capital Normal University. Of the total costs of the project over two years (29,400,000 Yen; 2,100,000 Yuan), 46% (13,440,000 Yen; 960,000 Yuan) will be covered by the Fund.